“I think the paralysis in Washington on this issue is sad, frankly. If this nation doesn’t get it after Newtown, Connecticut … people all across the nation are begging their government to respond,” Cuomo, a Democrat, told Susan Arbetter on “The Capitol Pressroom.”

“What the extremists do is spread fear and unrealistic theories of conspiracies and the citizenry that needs to be armed because the government is possibly tyrannical, and they need their arms to defend themselves against the tyrannical government,” Cuomo continued. This is true: at gun rallies, I’ve heard this “slippery slope” line of argument from multiple attendees. They view the right to bear arms as a kind of check against government power.

Malarky, Cuomo said.

“Common sense. Cool heads. Moderation. And remember there’s a majority of people in this state, this nation [that support gun control measures] and they have rights, too. It’s not just the Second Amendment right. People have a right to be safe,” he said. “Criminals and the mentally ill don’t have a right to a gun. They don’t. And you need a system and government regulation to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill.”

The gun law broadened the definition of banned assault weapons, increased penalties for illegal gun possession, reduced public access to gun permit information, and required mental health professionals to report concerns about a gun-owning patient who poses a risk to himself or others. People who own now-banned assault weapons must register them with the state and are limited in where they can sell them. The law also limits, to seven rounds, the amount of ammunition that can be legally contained in a magazine.

“These people are spreading fear because the facts don’t work for them,” Cuomo said.